


Pets and People

by Thesseli



Category: Warcraft (2016), Warcraft - All Media Types
Genre: LTfest 2018, LionTrust, Liontrust Fest 2018, M/M, Prompt: Modern AU Dog Washer!Khadgar/Picky Dog Owner!Lothar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 18:02:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14550273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thesseli/pseuds/Thesseli
Summary: Anduin Lothar isn't going to trust his dogs with just *anybody*...





	Pets and People

Anduin Lothar was known for many things. His work ethic, his toughness in the face of adversity, and his determination to always do what was right. 

What he was not known for, however, was his soft spot when it came to animals. 

“Medivh,” he began, a few moments after entering the grooming facility. “Where’s Karen? I had an appointment with her for both my dogs this afternoon.” 

“Didn’t you see the e-mail the shop sent out? Karen retired a month ago,” the salon’s owner replied. Then he shrugged. “It must have gone into your spam folder. Sorry about that, I thought you knew.” 

Lothar frowned. “Then who’s going to groom my dogs?” he asked. He knew it wouldn’t be Medivh – his old friend had inherited the business from a relative, but he had no experience in the profession himself. He’d simply kept on all the previous employees, knowing how much their clients liked them, but this was the first time in Lothar’s memory that anyone there had left. Lothar’s pets had a standing appointment every two months, always on a Saturday afternoon at 2PM. 

“Not to worry, Anduin, I have someone new on staff that I think you’re going to like. Talented, loves animals, and very intelligent to boot. Here, let’s get your pups in a run and then you can meet him.” 

Lothar was doubtful that whoever this new groomer was could be anywhere near as good as the old one, but he allowed Medivh to lead him to the back where the tubs and the tables were. Once there, he saw a dark haired young man putting the finishing touches on a fluffy Pomeranian mix. The dog looked good; this new groomer appeared to have some skills, after all. 

“Khadgar,” Medivh called. “Khadgar, this is my good friend Anduin Lothar. You’ll be grooming his two dogs today.” 

The young man smiled, extended a hand. “Pleased to meet you.” 

Lothar took his hand. “Likewise,” he replied, but he still wasn’t quite ready yet to put his beloved pets in the hands of someone he didn’t know. 

Medivh seemed to understand this. “Khadgar,” he said. “Why don’t you show Anduin your pre-flight checklist?” 

Lothar blinked. “Pre-flight checklist?” 

“Medivh calls it that,” he said, looking a little embarrassed. “Before I work on any animal, I like to make sure they’re comfortable and that there’s nothing wrong with them. I wouldn’t want to, say, make a dog with a sore leg have to put any excess weight on it, and I’d want to know if there are any skin issues that might be aggravated by clipping or bathing.” 

Medivh nodded. “I know you will have already checked her over, but I’d like you to show Anduin how thorough you are, with every pet you work with.” 

Khadgar smiled brightly. “Ok. Well, um, first I start with the hind legs.” He cupped a hand over one of the dog’s ‘knees’, then used his other hand to gently put the leg through its range of motion. “This way I can feel if the hips are stiff and if there’s any arthritis in the joints lower down in the leg. You can feel a dog’s pulses back here too, but usually they don’t show any problems with those, at least while they’re here,” he said. “I also check the nails to see if they’re too long, or broken, and I look at the bottoms of the feet to see if there’s any irritation between the toes and the pawpad. Oh, and there are lymph nodes in the back legs that you can feel too…it’s good to make sure both are the same, in size and in firmness. Afterwards I check under the tail to see if there’s any irritation there, because sometimes dogs can scoot and their owners don’t know it can mean there’s a problem, like them needing their anal glands expressed.” 

Lothar nodded. One of his dogs growing up had had issues in that area. 

“Then, once the back legs are all checked out, I move on to the abdomen. It shouldn’t be tense, unless the dog is very nervous…but if the dog wasn’t acting nervous before, but seems uncomfortable when you touch them there now, it could mean there’s something going on. Or, that I should take them for a little walk before bathing them, because they may have to pee,” he chuckled, as he continued his examination. He placed his left hand on the dog’s side, and then flicked a finger against the dog’s skin directly opposite it. “You should never be able to feel any kind of wave or vibration from one side of the belly to the other when you do that. If you can, it means there’s free fluid inside and that is never a good thing.” 

Lothar nodded, fascinated. 

“After the abdomen is the chest,” said Khadgar. “You should be able to feel the heartbeat, especially on the left side, but it shouldn’t feel like it’s pounding and you definitely shouldn’t feel any kind of vibration over it. If you can, that’s also something that’s potentially very bad.” The younger man now reached forward, putting each of the dog’s front legs through a similar range of motion as he had with the hindlimbs. “There should be no clicking or grinding, and no joints that are swollen compared to the ones on the other side. There are some lymph nodes up here too, but you usually can’t feel them unless they’re enlarged. The ones under the jaw you can feel, and they should be about the same size as the ones in the back legs. And they should never feel firm,” he stated. “Last comes the head. Checking the ears for discharge and inflammation will help tell if there’s an infection, but usually the dog will be shaking its head if there is one.” He smiled. “The eyes should be bright and alert, but lots of older dogs have a slight haziness of the lenses. It’s just an age-related change, not cataracts, and it generally doesn’t affect the vision.” 

That was good to know, Lothar thought. He’d noticed something like that in the older of his two dogs, and he’d planned to ask his vet about it the next time he brought them in for a checkup. 

“And finally, the teeth and gums,” said the younger man. “The gums should be pink, never pale, and in most dogs over the age of two there will be at least a little tartar present – usually on the upper carnassials, those big teeth in the back. That’s where the salivary ducts empty into the mouth; the minerals in the saliva get deposited on the surface of the teeth. Add in normal mouth bacteria and you’ll eventually end up with something like concrete, if you don’t keep up on home dental care. If you can get your pets used to having their teeth brushed while they’re still young, you’ll go a long way towards keeping them healthy throughout their lives. Lots of older dogs develop heart murmurs because bacteria from the tartar gets into the bloodstream when the gums get irritated…the bacteria lodge on one of the heart valves and cause inflammation, which can make the valve leaky over time.” He paused. “But one of the most important things to look for, overall, is symmetry. You want everything on the left to match everything on the right.” He ran his hands backwards, from the front end of the dog to the back. “So when I do this, I’m not just checking for skin lesions or whatever…I’m making sure there are no big differences from one side to the other, whether it be in joint mobility or muscle mass or anything else.” 

Lothar had to admit it, Khadgar knew his stuff. He was feeling better about entrusting his dogs to the young man’s care. “You know an awful lot for a groomer,” he said, smiling. 

“That’s because aside from being a groomer, Khadgar will be starting his third year of veterinary school in the fall. He’s just working here for the summer,” said Medivh, sounding almost like a proud parent. 

Lothar was definitely impressed now, and he smiled at the handsome young man again. A groomer with medical knowledge…that was definitely a good combination. He should have known Medivh would never steer him wrong. 

And as time went on, Lothar’s confidence in Khadgar only grew. Even after school started again in the fall, Khadgar would still make time to take care of Lothar’s dogs, coming out to the salon every few months just to groom them. Of course, once Khadgar’s final year, his clinical year began, he was kept so busy that he didn’t have time for anything other than school. But he and Lothar had grown closer during that time, going from acquaintances to friends to lovers. 

So much closer, in fact, that nearly two years to the day after their first meeting, Anduin Lothar found himself attending Khadgar’s graduation ceremony, cheering proudly as his husband received his degree.

**Author's Note:**

> In case any of you ever wondered just what exactly your vet is doing when they examine your pets, now you know.


End file.
